Age of X-Man: the Amazing Nightcrawler #4

Issue Date: 
July 2019
Story Title: 

Seanan McGuire (writer), Juan Frigeri  (artist), Dono Sanchez-Almara (colorist), VC’s Travis Lanham (letterer), Shane Davis, Michelle Delecki & Federico Blee (cover artists),  Victor Hugo; Inhuyk Lee; Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz & Nolan WoodarKhoi Pham & Morry Hollowell; Inhyuk Lee; Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonereriz and Nolan Woodard (variant cover artists), Chris Robinson (editor), Jordan D. White (senior editor), C.B. Cebulski (editor-in-chief), Joe Quesada (chief creative officer), Dan Buckley (publisher), Alan Fine (executive producer)
X-Men created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Recap art by Razzah

Brief Description: 

As the members of Studio X and Studio Wyngarde battle, the crowd believes it to be a publicity stunt and cheer them on. Nightcrawler sees the little girl he is looking for – Tenia Jean – in the crowd, guarded by Mystique. When he teleports there, they are gone. With the battle over, they find Meggan is missing as well. Celeste Cuckoos decides to help Kurt find the girl and drops some strange hints about events Kurt doesn’t remember. Celeste tracks Tenia to a warehouse, where she and Nightcrawer find her with Meggan, who doesn’t recall how she got there. Meggan suddenly transforms into Mystique and Celeste explains that her empathy is reacting to Kurt’s hidden memories. She hints that the Cuckoos to stay together have altered the crew’s memories before and that he and Meggan keep on falling in love but her powers never reacted like this. They are joined by the other Cuckoos and the two studios under their telepathic control.

Full Summary: 

A full-scale battle has erupted between the members of Nightcrawler’s Studio X and Regan Wyngarde’s Mastermind Studio. Kurt shouts at them to stop and Hellion takes the distraction to telekinetically slam Magma. Furious, she threatens he is charcoal and fires back.

Kurt notes the bystanders believing this to be a stunt and cheering on their favorites. He decides to give them a show and teleports over to Lady Mastermind. However, when he tries to hit her, she proves to be an illusion. The real Regan is about to attack him from behind. He notices in time, teleports away and does the same to her.

He muses the people love them, and why shouldn’t they? They gave them a world where it is safe enough to cheer. It makes him proud to be an X-Man.

He attacks Surge next and teleports her into a fountain. This gives the others pause. Kurt tells Regan the people think this is a show at the moment. Take the win and leave. She warns him this isn’t over. Is it ever? he retorts.

He turns to the crowd, anticipating the applause, but is shocked to see within the crowd the little girl he is looking for – Tenia Jean – and Mystique making a shushing motion. He teleports into the crowd but the two are gone. A man asks for an autograph and Kurt turns professional, asking who he should make it out to.

Later, he returns back to Studio X, where the rest of the crew are waiting – sans Meggan. Amara asks where she is. Kurt doesn’t know either and asks the Cuckoos, who coolly address him as Mr. Wagner. When he calls them on it, they explain they’ve had a weird day. Meggan’s not missing. She’s just not here. Kurt asks them to track her but they explain Meggan’s empathic transformations make her almost impossible to track. They might be able to if they had Phoebe, but only the two of them…

Kurt turns away deciding that Meggan can take care of herself but Tenia is only a child. Celeste sends an apology, despite Irma’s sharp warning.

Celeste follows Kurt and offers her help in finding the child. He asks if Irma is coming too. Celeste explains that they are individuals, despite their hivemind. They disagree. The world is perfect, except for them, because they have to stay together. If you separate them, things get bad. They don’t self-regulate the way everyone else does. Remember when they left Irma alone in the office while they went filming on locations? She could hear Irma screaming from the other side of the world. They are never going to fit in here. They are never going to be perfect. They are always going to be… sisters.

Kurt asks when they ever separated the Cuckoos. He doesn’t remember that. Celeste tells him not to worry. Irma doesn’t think this is the right thing, but she does. She’d side with him over her own sister? He marvels. Celeste reminds him they are sisters, not the same person. She takes his hand and asks him to remember how he saw Tenia in the crowd. She psychically finds her and tells Kurt Tenia is afraid. She tells him where to go.

And he teleports the two of them into a warehouse. A moment later, they hear a scream. They run to find the source of the scream and, in a small, separated room, they find Meggan and Tenia Jean watching a film, where the scream comes from, and giggling.

Meggan asks Tenia to hold the popcorn and joins Kurt. She explains that one moment she was moving civilians and the next she woke up here with Tenia.

Kurt is distracted by the film they are watching. She is showing Flatscan Zombie Beach Party to a child? Meggan looks at him annoyed. They only have three channels here and she likes it. He repeats she is a child.

While Celeste talks to Tenia, Kurt decides they need to get her out of here. Meggan tells him to meet Tenia first. She is a delight. Kurt retorts he just needed to see she is safe. She and Celeste were right. Families are a thing of the past. They need to get her back to the crèche.

Suddenly Meggan screams in pain… and transforms into Mystique. She tells Kurt he will listen to her now. What has she done with Meggan? Kurt shouts. No kiss for mother? she mocks, then sneers he really doesn’t know her. “Hands off, son!” she orders when he grabs her arms then she knees him again. She wonders how they took away the memory of her. She snaps that in the beginning he was at her side. He understood that family was important. He was on her side and then they took him to reeducation, and the next she saw him he was on the silver screen!

Kurt doesn’t believe this. Reeducation is a myth, and he has never seen her before! What has she done to Meggan!

That is Meggan! Celeste reveals. It’s her empathy. Psychic surgery can remove memories and block relationships, but her empathy is tearing through the scar tissue. She looks like what people need her to be. Right now, part of her needs to be someone he knew before reeducation.

Kurt repeats that reeducation is a lie. Why would they need to change people’s minds in a perfect world? He really wasn’t acting, Celeste realizes. What is she talking about? Kurt demands. Meggan’s powers don’t work like this. They do, Celeste insists. She is an empathic metamorph. Her empathy knows what he really needs under their surgery. “Their?” Kurt repeats.

Celeste apologizes. This has happened before. Most of it. He has never been completely unaware. Meggan has never lost control. They must have done something wrong.

What is she talking about? Kurt wonders. Celeste explains that the Cuckoos need to stay together. Apate keeps Phoebe stable… but she’s hollow. She’s not enough. They need each other. That was the deal they made. To be allowed to stay together.

Kurt asks if they have been manipulating his mind. Yes and no, Celeste replies. They need stories, movies to show mutants how wonderful this world can be. But acting is about finding emotions… controlling them. This isn’t the first time they’ve fallen in love. It isn’t the first time he’s gone looking for Tenia.

Kurt shouts that they trusted them. Celeste replies her sisters come first. He and Meggan aren’t always the ones to fall in love. Someone always breaks. She looks at the crouching Meggan. She’s never lost control of her powers like this. She isn’t sure how many times they can do this. Things are breaking down.

Kurt asks her to stop. The X-Men… aren’t beyond the law! she replies. She is so… “Sorry,” three voices chorus. She hopes he understands this will be the last time. Irma announces. By her side is Phoebe and under their control are all members of Studio X and Studio Wyngarde.

Characters Involved: 

Nightcrawler (X-Man)
Celeste, Irma (Stepford Cuckoos), Kylun, Magma, Meggan (Studio X staff)

Lady Mastermind
Apate, Hellion, Phoebe Cuckoo, Surge (Mastermind Studio staff)

Tenia Jean

In picture:
Tenia Jean

Story Notes: 

German phrases:
Verzeihung: I am sorry.
Verdammt: damn
Chav / Chavi: Romani for “child”

Written By: